introduction by Alice Shaffer
Regarding Nannies Development Team Member

I have been a professional  nanny for teenagers for the past 4 years and preteens for 8 years.  I love them to death, but boy can they talk back at times and be disrespectful.   I was told that teenagers are like toddlers.  They throw temper tantrums at 14 years of age just like 2 year olds.  I have to agree to this on some levels.  I have seen some pretty crazy “temper tantrums” from some teens and pre-teens. Defiant behavior, non listening attitudes and just plain back talking from them.  I ran across this article over at Education.com discussing some helpful tips for when you are dealing with teenagers who talk back.

Here is a little snippet of the article and a link to read the rest of the article…

10 Ways to Deal with a Teen that Talks Back

By Lisa Medoff

Parents often notice a resurgence of the “terrible twos” when their child enters adolescence, complete with the assertions of independence, the frustration of not having the language needed to express the complexity of their emotions, and the seemingly automatic response of, “No!” or “That’s not fair!” when asked to do anything by parents. Even tantrums seem to rear their ugly heads during the teen years.

It seems as if our current society both reflects and encourages these behaviors, as media often shows sassy teenage stars that get a laugh from their rude remarks aimed at adults, who are often portrayed as unreasonable and/or less intelligent than the teenagers. Parents who are concerned about quashing their teen’s independence, worried about engaging in a power struggle that they might not be able to win, or just feeling helpless in the face of the teen’s strongly expressed emotions, may simply give up when their child refuses to do what is asked of him.

It’s important for parents to understand that teenagers do not have the same control of their impulses that adults do, since the part of the brain that helps one think ahead and adjust behavior based on potential consequences (the prefrontal cortex), is still developing.

to read the rest of the article please visit :

10 Ways to Deal with a Teen that Talks Back